advanced pain management clinic

Hello everyone. I have an appointment with advanced pain management clinic on the 17th this week. it's my first appointment ever with a pain management clinic. can anyone tell me what to expect and what are some of the things they might do?? thank you for any suggestions!!

Bring any MRI's. CT scans . reports , xrays and any other pertinent medical records that you have, as well as a print out from your pharmacy of any medications prescribed for the condition that you are seeing them for, as well as a list of results of those medications. If you currently are taking any medications for the condition that you are seeing them for, bring the bottles and remaining medications with you as well. Be prepared for a urine screen test to be done and don't expect to leave with prescriptions for the condition that you are seeing them for. Most PM doctors will not write prescriptions for a new patient on the first visit, they prefer to wait and see how the urine test results come out, and to take time to review previous test results, and films/studies done, and then work to establish a treatment plan based on their exam and findings prior to starting or continuing any medications.
There are two different kinds of pain management programs currently- one is called an interventionialist- they tend to use injections, physical therapy, spinal cord stimulation, tens, and other modalities to treat pain , and some include visits with a therapist as part of the overall treatment plan. They may or may not be willing to write prescriptions. Other pain management physicians will use a more comprehensive program that includes medications if they feel they are necessary, but usually won't write for a new patient until they become established and they have the time to review and examine previous medical records. What is the condition that you are seeing this PM for?
Generally, once you have been with the practice for a short time, and you have passed the urine screens, if the doctor will come up with a plan for treating your pain that may incorporate any of the modalities that I listed above and others once he determines what he feels may be best for you to help manage your pain levels effectively.

Hi Alwayzdrama, welcom to the forum. I think the first PM appointment will very greatly, one, on the doctor, and two, what are you being referred for. I've had two very different experiences with two different PMs just inside the last year. Not bad experiences, just different. I think another variable that might effect your experience with the doctor is the size of his/her practice. I've found that the larger the practice or clinic that the doctor belongs to, the more rules are in place that have to be adhered to, most of them set by a committee, and not by the doctor.

My first PM, it was a brief 10 minute appointment, besides the 30 minute wait in the waiting room while I filled out patient history forms, and other paperwork. I met the doctor, and he took all my vitals himself, and he gave me a full exam, then had me go into his office while he looked over my MRI disc. Since he had recieved a letter from my referring doctor that I was not recieving any scripts for pain medication at that time, he wrote me a prescription for Norco, and then scheduled me for ESIs in my back. At the time, I really wanted to get the ESIs, since I had seen them work wonders for most of my mom's and grandma's back problems; I knew they didn't work for all their problems, but figured it was worth a shot to get out of pain. Did the ESIs two weeks later.

Alas, a couple of months went by, and things went haywire with work comp. I had to find a new PM, about 1 1/2 month before having my lumbar fusion surgery. That appointment was a little different, the first thing was she had me do a UA, and then asked me to list all pain medications that I could remember through my whole life, and if I had any reactions to them. She wouldn't write me any scripts until she got a letter from the other PM stating that I had been discharged. She looked over my latest scans, and we talked for a while about what I was trying to do each day, and what kind of tasks I still needed to accomplish like parenting and stuff like that, and then she layed out a plan for what she wanted to prescribe me if I wanted to sign a contract with her.

Those are my two experiences with PMs. I'm supposed to get a new one soon, but haven't gotten approval from work comp yet. Work comp has been a real pain in the rear through this whole thing. Right now, my back surgeon is graciously doing my pain management, and I say graciously, because according to his practice coordinator, he usually only writes 1-2 prescriptions per year for pain medication, and requires all his patients to get prescriptions from either PMs or their PCDs.

Hope you have a good appointment, and that you and this doctor are a right fit. Take care, and keep us posted on what happens.

I had a med that I had to pay out of pocket as well Matt and I asked one day why my reg pharm was higher on that med and why I used another one to fill it,cost effective for me and every $ counts in my piddly budget, they said bring them the receipt from the other pharm and they would be glad to price match for me and they did!

It was a nice gesture since I dont drive anylonger and having t get 2 different places each month well a little more trouble, have you asked if your pharm can do this for you? Worth a shot right?